Family Magic
by David89
Summary: Family Magic is a Charmed prequel story which explores the past of Penny "Grams" Halliwell.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

"That's the third dress you've tried on this morning, Mom!"

Patricia "Patty" Halliwell stood restlessly outside the changing room cubicle of Gwen's – a small fashion boutique in downtown San Francisco. Wrestling with baby Prue in one arm, she tried to see what time it was, using her chin to lift up the sleeve of her blouse to allow access to the small watch she wore around her wrist – 1:36pm. "Mom, we've got to get going, Victor and I have a viewing at an apartment in less than an hour, I don't want to be late!" the frustrated witch-wife-mother-daughter called, feeling like what she had just said was falling on deaf ears, as she knew that whenever Victor's name came up in conversation, her mother would instantly tune out.

"I'm coming out now," Penny said, un-phased by her daughter's eagerness to leave the store. "I'm not sure any of these dresses are _me_ enough," she pulled open the material curtain and emerged with three dresses, each back on their hangers and none on Penny's to buy list.

"What do you mean? You wear this kind of stuff all the time," Patty said, looking through the selection of floral print, long, flowing dresses which her mother had been drawn to, which now apparently didn't suit. "Could this be about something else?" she asked, wishing immediately after she had spoken she could take it back.

"Like what Patty? What else could this possibly have to do with?" Penny asked, her voice sounding flustered, almost as if Patty had touched a nerve with her suspicions.

"Nothing, I'm not saying anything!" Patty decided it was best to play dumb, she knew her mother all to well that she didn't react well to being questioned about things she obviously didn't want to talk about. "Now come on, we have to leave to meet Victor back at the house."

"Well you obviously meant something by it," Penny followed Patty, who was quickly making her way out of the store. Dropping her dresses on a lone rack as she followed, Penny was determined to find out what exactly her daughter meant about "something else."

Outside, as Patty struggled to get Prue fastened into her car seat, Penny wasn't letting go of her daughter's comment. "What did you mean," her words came out slowly, but each one felt weighted and determined.

"Mom, I'm a little busy right now, can we do this later?" Patty asked, beginning to get annoyed at how complex the new car seat was evidently becoming.

"Let me," Penny pushed her way passed her exhausted daughter and took a quick look to her left and then to her right, before waving her arm over the child seat and skilfully using her telekinesis power, buckled young Prue in safely. "There, it just takes a certain touch," she said, teasingly.

"Yeah, a magical one." Patty recounted, closing the back door of the car.

"So, what exactly did you mean?" Penny probed again as Patty climbed into the drivers seat.

"All I meant was that perhaps none of the dresses worked for you because you were too nervous about your date, and about what Ron would think of you," she gave in, knowing that now she had dared to delve into the mind of her fearless mother, she would never hear the end of it, and it was at least a twenty-five minute drive home.

"How can you say such a ridiculous thing Patty," she shrugged off Patty's assessment, no matter how accurate it was. Penny Halliwell didn't get nervous, not around demons or warlocks and definitely not around men. Or that was the persona she liked to present for herself and the world. Deep down Penny was nervous about her date, in fact it was the first date she had been on in over a year, and it was a blind date at that so she didn't know what to expect.

The truth was, that since her last marriage dissolved, Penny had focused all of her emotions and energy into combating the forces of evil, thwarting their plans for control and saving the innocent from power hungry warlocks. She had almost forgotten how to relate to normal people, and the thought of meeting someone who she would potentially have to let into her extraordinary world was frightening to the usually cool, calm and collected grandmother. "I am simply not that interested in meeting men at my age."

"Then why did you agree?" Patty queried, quickly checking on baby Prue who was fast asleep in her baby chair on the back seat.

"To shut you up! Now can we please move on to something else!"

**Disclaimer:** The sory is based on Charmed created by Constance M. Burge. I am not claiming ownership over the characters of Penny, Patty, Victor or any other characters who appear throught the story who have previously appeared in the show. This is simply a work of fan fiction.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

The sun shone high above the Victorian manor as Patty pulled into the driveway, to find Victor Bennett waiting eagerly on the porch steps. Victor, in his younger years was fairly handsome, his dark brown hair sat shaggily on his head, and he was dressed smartly in a dark blue buttoned shirt and black trousers.

"I'm sorry, I'm late. I'll get changed and then we'll go," Patty apologised, running up to Victor and giving him a quick kiss on the cheek before disappearing hastily into the manor.

"I'll get Prue then!" Penny called, feigning annoyance as she stepped out of the car.

"I'll get her if you like, Penny," Victor politely offered, strolling over to his mother-in-law.

"No need," she said, making sure she got to Prue first. Victor, being used to Penny shrugged this off and stood aside while she again, magically un-belted Prue from the car seat and lifted her out over her shoulder. "Victor, could you get the door," she asked while already striding towards the manor.

"Yes ma'am," Victor muttered under his breath as he slammed the door shut.

Penny strolled through the front door to the ancestral Halliwell home which still retained it's traditional décor from when it was rebuilt after the San Francisco earthquake of 1906. But that was how Penny liked it, and hoped it would stay for generations to come, it was after all decorated by her own mother and it was one of the only things that Penny had left of her mother, who had just recently passed away.

"Bye mom, see you later," Patty whizzed past her mother, dressed elegantly in a black blouse and cream trousers, her long dark hair was left as it was, down and over her shoulders. "Bye little one," she said to Prue blowing her a kiss as she jogged out of the house to meet Victor.

"I guess it's just you and me this after noon," Penny said, waving her arm in the direction of the front door to magically close it as she began up the stairs for Prue's room.

**(X)**

Prue's nursery was Patty's old bedroom, and Penny's before hers. They had redecorated it of course, now instead of the light purple wallpaper Patty had selected as a child, a light blue and white cloud print had been put up. It wasn't the most girl friendly room for an infant girl, but Victor insisted on making it a neutral design, just in case he got his wish of a son. This was a wish however, that Penny hoped wouldn't come true and thankfully hadn't. If Patty were to have any more children then they absolutely had to be girls. Boys weren't suited to being witches in her eyes, they disrespected the foundations of which magic was built and they abused the power which came from generations before them. No, absolutely no boy witches. And if Patty did deliver a baby boy, then the option to bind his powers until he was older was there.

"Sleep tight little one," Penny tucked the one year-old in tightly, kissing her forehead as the child drifted off to sleep. The moment however was disrupted by a cold presence, which Penny could feel from behind. _Demon?_ She thought to herself, making sure she didn't turn around quickly in case something was in the room with her otherwise she wouldn't have time to formulate a plan. Slowly she turned around. Nothing. _Get a hold of yourself Penny._ Another glance from left to right told her that there was nothing else in this room except for herself and her grandchild. Or was there?

Suddenly she felt herself being thrown back, landing on and crushing a newly built shelf for Prue's soft toys, which luckily broke her fall. Staggering to her feet she took another glance around the room. "Who are you!" she demanded, eyeing up how close she was to Prue. If any harm was to come to her, she would never forgive herself. "I said, who are you?" she repeated, slowly stepping sideways to Prue's cot. There was no answer, but the cold feeling remained. "It's okay little…" she was thrown back again, feeling a hard thump on her face which flung her all the way to the door. Just as she was about to get back to her feet, she heard footsteps coming from behind her in the hallway. _Not another one._ Preparing herself for a fight, Penny rose to her feet, balancing herself with her arms and holding on to the door frame for support.

"Mom!" Patty asked, appearing at her mother's side. "What's wrong, what's going on?"

"Freeze the room, Patty, quickly!" Penny sounded urgent. "Now!"

Patty rose her hands and froze the nursery, not knowing exactly what the reason was, but from the state of her mother she thought it was best to act now and ask questions later.

"Wait here!" Penny said, running towards the small staircase which lead to the attic. "Keep that room frozen!" she called from the distance. Patty took a deep breath and stepped into the room, she did after all have to make sure her daughter was safe. _Come on Patty._ She took a slow first step over the threshold, but once she heard her foot step down on the floor, she quickly walked over to the cot where her daughter Prue was silently nodding off to sleep.

"Good girl," Patty whispered, running her hand over Prue's soft head of dark hair.

A few moments later Penny emerged from attic with a single vial in her hand, which she threw immediately to the centre of the room. "Come on, come on," she whispered, hoping that the potion would find it's way to whatever was in that room. After a couple of seconds, the potion began to take effect as it created a glowing red aura around what appeared to be a demon with the power of invisibility. They couldn't see the demon, but the potion allowed for them to see the outline, of a large, lanky demon, who was frozen in time just as he was about to conjure a fire or energy ball in his right palm.

Patty lifted Prue out of her crib and held her over her shoulder as she walked over to meet her mother just outside of the door. "What do we do now?" she asked.

"We vanquish him that's what we do," Penny replied, walking carefully over to a small toy box which sat in the nursery. She reached deep into the wooden chest, making her way past soft toys and dolls until she found a small velvet bag. She brought out the bag and took out the potion vial which was kept safely inside of it.

"Don't tell me you kept a vanquishing potion in my child's toy box," Patty said in amazement, she wasn't angry, just astonished at how resourceful her mother could be.

"Just don't tell Victor," Penny said with a grin as she hurled the small glass bottle towards the invisible intruder. "Let's hope this works, it's quite strong so it should do the trick." The bottled landed on the floor directly below the demon, as the vial smashed the the magical brew was released. The demon unfroze, screaming in pain as the potion hit him which created a ring of red hot flames around him. As he combusted, he disappeared into the demonic abyss known as the wasteland, leaving behind only a scorch mark on the wooden floor where he stood. "There we go," Penny smiled, dusting off her hands in pride.

"Oh, there's no way I'll be telling him about any of this. In fact, let's hope there's a spell to remove that scorch mark or we'll have to cover it with a carpet," Patty said, following her mother downstairs.

**(X)**

Downstairs they where met by an anxious Victor who was pacing in front of the doorway. "Come on, did you find your purse?" he asked, motioning his hands out of the door.

"Oh, no. Sorry, I don't need it," she stuttered handing Prue to Penny, making sure she didn't reveal the reasoning behind why she didn't find her purse. If Victor found out there was a demon in Prue's room he wouldn't be happy with either Patty or Penny. And it would make him resent the fact that his daughter was a witch even more than he already did, which although was something that he had never vocalised, Patty knew that deep down he wished that Prue wasn't a witch, and maybe even her too. "Let's go," she said, rushing past him and out of the door.

"Bye!" Penny called after them, as Victor hastily closed the door behind him. _Bye Penny_, she though to herself, cradling baby Prue in her arms.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

After putting Prue down to bed for the second time, and demon-proofing the nursery by hiding four enchanted crystals around its perimeter, Penny eagerly made her way up to the attic. She wanted answers.

**(X)**

The attic was the home to all of the Halliwell's magical tools, ingredients, supplies and most importantly the ancestral Book of Shadows. The Book sat closed on the wooden lectern catching the thick rays of sun which shone in through back window, illuminating the deep red, embossed triquetra on the front cover of the worn and weathered Book. As Penny ran her fingers over the cover, she remembered just how faithful the Book had been in the past, not just to her and Patty, but for the generations of Warren witches that had came before her, and she hoped the Book would be continue to help and guide future generations. Wishing that today would be no exception, she slowly opened the Book.

Penny began flipping through the pages, not manually of course, that wasn't her style. Instead she used her telekinesis to find what she desired – an I.D. of the invisible intruder who attacked her earlier.

Penny's technique of magically searching through the Book was an aspect of her power which she had perfected over the years. It involved channelling what she could see in her mind's eye (or what she hoped to see), and combining that with her telekinesis in order to find a specific entry faster than searching by hand. Patty had always argued that her mother was becoming far too reliant on her powers, and tried to tell her that using magic for every little thing in life was not only lazy, but could also be classed as personal gain. Penny however, liked to see the opposite view where by she was simply being a more resourceful and pro-active witch. And if the Elders ever did have an issue with her using her powers to search through the Book, then she planned to casually remind them that less time looking for a demon or warlock meant a quicker vanquish and in turn could even save the life of an innocent as well. That was her argument at least and she was sticking to it.

Eventually the pages began to slow down, before stopping altogether drawing Penny's attention to a blank page. _That's no use._ She began flipping the pages again using her power and visualising in her mind, the demon she saw or with the aid of an emergency potion, got a fairly good idea of earlier in the nursery. After a few short seconds the same thing happened. The Book stopped on an empty page. _What is going on?_

Snapping the Book shut, Penny took a seat on the old couch, which had been stored in the attic for as long as she could remember. Taking a deep, and much needed breath, Penny took a moment to relax and she found her mind drifting, whether she desired it to or not, to the impending date she had next weekend with Ron, an old friend of Patty's boss.

Early last week Penny had ended up agreeing, after what seemed like an eternity of beginning from Patty to go on a blind date with Ron, who had just moved to the city and was looking to meet new people. He had known Patty's boss at the diner since college and when his name and single status came up in passing conversation, Patty thought a date would be an excellent way to get her mother's mind off demons and potions for a while and onto something more normal, sociable and potentially more relaxing. Penny however, was having second thoughts after reluctantly agreeing in the first place. Meeting men was not something high on her agenda at the moment, in fact the less men she met the better. _They are all a waste of time if you ask me_, she though to herself candidly.

She had practically given up on men after her last marriage dissolved, she had always felt like she was to independent and free spirited to be married to a mortal man again, and with her beliefs about male witches and the rules regarding witch/whitelighter romances she wasn't really left with a lot of other options. But that's how she liked these days, she could live life by her own rules and not have to make compromises with her other half. Of course she became lonely every now and then, and she did tend to put all of her emotional energy into hunting down demons instead of confronting her emotions the old fashioned way, but that was just Penny's nature. Her love life hadn't always been so non-existent, and her attitudes to love hadn't always been so cold. She in fact had been married four time already, fallen in love with a Necromancer and been engaged to a man who left her when she confessed her secret to him. That last one was the final straw, and she decided to place a magical curse upon the wedding ring Allen, her first husband had given to her, which reminded her if she was ever crazy enough to consider getting married again, of the horrors of married life. Thankfully though, she hadn't had to use that little reminder as of yet. All of those bumps along the road to true love had left Penny hardened and closed off from the prospect of ever loving a man again. _Perhaps the date will go well, perhaps Ron will be different?_ she considered for a brief second, before being interrupted by the sound of Prue's crying crackling through the baby monitor, which sat propped up on top of a pile of old books. Shaking the thoughts of Ron out of her mind she stood to her feet.

"I'm coming darling!" she called instinctively and made her way out of the attic, hoping that it was just regular baby cries and not demonic inflicted cries and that she could soon get back to trying to I.D. her attacker instead of fending off another one. It didn't matter in the greater scale of things if she found a description or not because she had managed to vanquish him, but she wanted to know just who attacked her and why. And if possible, stop it from happening again before any harm came to either herself or baby Prue.

**(X)**

"I love it!"

Patty spun around with open arms in the spacious apartment living room. Although there was no furniture in place as of yet, she could already imagine herself alongside Victor and Prue living like a normal family here. Compared to the traditional interior of the manor which Penny insisted on keeping as it was, Patty could see herself adding her own modern touch to the place, it was the 1970's after all, not the 1800's. The apartment itself had two large bedrooms and one smaller bedroom, a beautifully fitted state of the art kitchen and a large, open living room with a beautiful view of the city from the back window. And most unbelievably, it was actually in their price range.

"Me too," Victor said smiling to the smartly dressed female agent that had been showing them around the apartment, she stood eagerly next to him cradling in her arms a clipboard and pen.

"Well it is our last apartment, so I'm sure I don't need to tell you to act now if you want this place," she said in a tone which sounded both urgent and optimistic. The woman, who was dressed in a black and grey pinstriped suit, had her long blonde hair pulled tightly back into a ponytail continued, "if you just write your names and number down on here we can make an arrangement for putting down a deposit," fishing for a sale, as she extended the clipboard and pen in Victor's direction.

"Just wait a minute!" Patty jumped in as she saw Victor reaching for the pen. "We have to talk about this first," she said politely smiling as she turned Victor away. "What about mom? This place is a lot further away than what we were looking at before. We said we wouldn't go too far away," she whispered.

"Yes, I know that," Victor started, keeping his voice low, "but this place is perfect, you even said it yourself, you love this apartment. So what if we are a little more away from your mother, it's not going to change anything. At least not much," he said, recalling Patty and Penny's fear that if they moved too far away from each other demons may try and take advantage of that distance. But Victor didn't even include demons in the equation, for him it was about finding the perfect place to raise a family with the woman he loved, and in his eyes, the further away from Penny's interference the better, but that was getting onto a whole different topic. Of course he understood Patty's bond with her mother was strong, the two of them had a lot more in common than most mothers and daughters, but it wasn't exactly like he was moving Patty to Italy or Australia, it was just thirty minutes away by car, and he was confident that if any demonic emergencies did materialize, Penny and Patty were both resourceful enough to think of more "alternative" travel methods.

"It _is_ perfect. And there is that spare room just in case we have another," Patty smiled, patting her stomach. The idea of having more children was always something she and Victor had hoped to take more seriously now Prue was over a year old, but with demons bursting in every five minutes at the manor, and with Victor's work often taking him away for days on end, they hadn't had the time to properly consider getting pregnant again. Prospects however, had began to look up more recently as Victor was working a lot more in the city, and having their own place meant that demons wouldn't be dropping by to attack Penny on a seemingly daily basis, which unlike this morning, was largely down to her own meddling in the demonic underworld.

"So…" Victor trailed off, waiting for Patty to finish his thought.

"So let's sign, like she said it's the last one and this place is a catch considering out budget."

"Really? You don't mind being this far away?" Victor asked, double checking.

"No. And after all, I do have a car and…other ways," she smiled, twitching her nose. "My mother won't mind, and besides I'm in my thirties, it's time I moved out of the house I grew up in!"

"Well?" the lady coughed, clearing her throat to get their attention. Holding out the pen and clipboard again, she smiled "have you made a decision?"

"Let's do it," Patty smiled turning around and taking the pen. "Where do we sign?"


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

The sun flooded the outdoor patio of the manor, which had brought the family outside for breakfast this morning. Penny, Patty, Prue and Victor all sat nursing various breakfast foods on their laps, around the small wicker table and chair set which had been moved outside from the sunroom for days such as this one.

"This is nice isn't it," Patty gushed, sitting back with Prue on her knee, in the cushioned wicker two seated chair which she shared with Victor.

"It is," Victor smiled, taking a sip of tea, which even on a day as warm as this one, was still his drink of choice. He couldn't begin the day ahead of him if he hadn't had at least one cup of tea.

"You're awfully quite this morning mom," Patty said, smiling friendly at her unusually silent mother who was sitting picking at an uneaten bagel.

"Oh, I'm just lost in thought that's all," she replied, only half lying. She was lost in thought, only it was about why she was randomly attacked yesterday by an invisible demon who wasn't in the Book of Shadows and when she tried to locate an I.D. she was drawn to a blank page. But she was also slightly worried for the exact same reason – why was she directed to a blank page? She hadn't shared that information with Patty however, simply due to the fact that even Penny herself didn't think it was overly important, just an odd curiosity and at this moment in time at least, that was what she was telling herself it was. Demons attacked the manor on a weekly, sometimes twice weekly basis, and sometimes they were in the Book, other times they weren't – this occasion however, just felt different. Penny couldn't shake the cold feeling which came over her just moments before the attack. It was almost like an innate warning system deep down was telling her that trouble was brewing. Either that or she was just being paranoid.

"Up for another shopping trip today? I'm determined to find you something to wear on your date," Patty offered, brining up yet again that dreaded date with Ron.

"No, not today darling, I'm going to visit Gail later this morning," she shook her head, taking a sip from a glass of orange juice.

"Oh, okay," Patty sounded disappointed, but not surprised that Penny was avoiding anything to do with her approaching date. "I guess you have me all to yourself," she smiled turning her attention to Victor, leaning over to kiss his rough check. "But before that you can go and shave, just because you have a day off doesn't mean you can just lounge around all day," she teased, stroking his stubbly chin.

"Actually I'm thinking of growing a beard," he replied mischievously winking at baby Prue.

"I think I am going to go and get dressed," Penny interrupted setting the glass down on the table and scrambling in doors, not waiting for a response from Patty.

"Do you think there's something on mom's mind?" Patty asked after she was sure Penny was far enough inside the house to be out of hearing distance. "She doesn't seem herself this morning." Patty wondered if Penny's strange behaviour had anything to do with the demon attack yesterday, but she couldn't raise her suspicions with Victor without having to come clean about the whole event and she knew that if she told him a demon had been near Prue an argument would inevitably break out and would spiral into something much bigger and out of control. She had learned that lesson the hard way when Prue was almost kidnapped six months ago by a demonic nanny, who thankfully was vanquished before she could get close enough to Prue to do anything. However, when Patty had confessed it all to Victor a huge argument broke out which resulted in Victor storming out of the manor and not returning for almost three days. He had mellowed slightly about the fact that Prue was a witch since then, however Patty did not want to take the chance of the same thing happening again.

"Maybe it's the date?" Victor guessed. He hadn't really noticed Penny's unusual behaviour this morning, he had been to busy relaxing in the warm morning sun contemplating his day off to pay much attention to how Penny was acting. "I'm sure she's fine," he added, noticing Patty's worried expression.

"I hope so, I'll try and talk to her later, I still haven't told her where we are moving to," Patty admitted, keeping her head down.

Victor made a face from under his cup. "Well you had better tell her fast, we are moving next week."

"I will, I'm just trying to make sure I word it just right," she said, stroking Prue's head. "In case you haven't noticed, my mother can be a bit touchy sometimes."

"Oh, I've noticed," Victor smirked.

**(X)**

"So when are they moving again?" Gail asked, sliding onto the couch next to Penny. Gail's living room was perfectly kempt, mirroring her own always pristine appearance. The curtains were neatly tied back, the hardwood floors were shiny enough to cast a reflection and the furniture didn't look a day older than when she bought it. The house was spotless. "Soon?"

"Next week sometime," Penny shrugged, picking up a piece of brownie from the plate Gail had set out for them. When Gail wasn't working at the beauty salon, she was either home baking or gardening, both of which she was a dab hand at. "I don't know, it's their business," she added dismissively, not wanting to face up the reality that Patty was moving out of the manor and into her own place for the first time. "This is delicious," she smiled taking a bite of the soft chocolate and walnut brownie. "Is this a new recipe?"

"Don't change the subject," Gail shook her head. "Am I getting the impression that you aren't all too happy about the move?" Gail asked, perceptive as ever and finely tuned into the inner wavelengths that Penny Halliwell tried to hide behind a tough exterior. Gail, in comparison to Penny, who lately had been a lot more active in perusing demons causing her too look very tired and exhausted, looked immaculate. Her dark brown dyed hair was perfectly placed in a tight bun, and she was dressed stylishly in an off-white coloured cardigan and black trousers looking like she had just stepped out of a fashion catalogue. Penny on the other hand had dark circles under her tired eyes and her greying hair sat loosely on the tips of her shoulders. "In fact, you look a bit tired, is everything okay?"

"Yes, yes, everything is fine," she lied, which was becoming a habit of hers lately. "Well, sort of," she found herself opening up, which for Penny was unusual, but she had known Gail since their youth, if there was anyone she could trust it was her. Penny was faithful that deep down, Gail would never betray her trust. "I just think Patty's moving has put me off my game a little that's all," she said quietly, almost under her breath.

"You don't want her to go?"

"Not really, but I can't make her stay with me forever, she needs her own life I completely understand that, I was young once after all," Penny explained softly. "I only wish she was doing it with someone other than _him_," she added, returning to her usual stern and slightly critical self.

"You need to lighten up on that man. And for the record, we are still young enough, look at us, we've still got it," Gail joked.

"One of us maybe. I just can't help but think that with her moving, it will have some kind of effect on our powers. I know they aren't connected, but we have been vanquishing demons together for years, I don't want any demons thinking that we are vulnerable apart," she confessed. "Of course Patty isn't thinking of it like that, and Victor just can't wait to get her away from me."

"Here we go again," Gail rolled her eyes. "I know you don't like him, I'm not too keen on his anti-magic attitude myself, but Patty loves him," Gail reminded Penny, sounding almost like a parent lecturing their young child. "You can't deny that they are in love, you know what that feels like." Penny smiled, remembering her string of failed marriages, engagements and romance with the Necromancer. She definitely knew what love felt like, just not what long lasting love felt like.

"To be honest I think I was just spooked yesterday when I was attacked by an invisible demon, it reminded me that very soon I won't have Patty around to help. And I know most of the time I can take care of demons myself," Penny said fluttering her eyes, "but I like to be reassured."

"I was wondering what this bruise was," Gail said softly, looking at a small, yellow bruised spot on Penny's left wrist. "Are you okay?"

"Oh, I wasn't hurt, but if it wasn't for Patty I don't know what would have happened," Penny said, almost doubting herself as the memory of the cold feeling came over her again, sending a sharp shiver down her spine.

"I'm sure you would have done something, you are the strongest witch I know! Nothing gets past Penny Halliwell," Gail smiled, noticing the friend's strangely humble attitude.

Although what she said wasn't exactly true. One demon did get past Penny a long time ago, killing her grandmother. But this was a secret which she had kept buried inside since her childhood and oddly enough, up until recently she had not thought about it at all.

However, since Patty announced that she was moving out, subconsciously Penny had been fearing that living alone, a demon would be able to get close enough to kill her just as one did to her grandmother. Penny had never learned the name of the demon who took her grandmother's life, he wasn't in the Book, although his face remained a constant reminder of why she kept fighting. If there was ever one demon she hoped to vanquish, it was him.

"Enough about me! I came here to chat not depress you," Penny said, eager to change the subject. "Tried any new spells lately?"

"Oh, well I tried some new ones last night, just basic spells," she straightened up smiling, eager to tell Penny of her success. "I managed to find a lost earring and an old pair of shoes I thought I'd thrown away years ago," she sounded ecstatic. Gail was only a witch practitioner which meant that although she wasn't magical she was able to cast spells thanks to the guidance and teachings of Penny over the years.

Gail reminded Penny of all the good that magic could bring into the world, the joy it could create and the wonders it could show where such simplistic things like a lost and found spell could bring so much happiness to a person. It was a side of magic, that these days Penny didn't see enough of, instead she was surrounded by the darkness of the underworld and the fear that surrounded dark magic.

"That's great, I remember once I used a spell to find lost items and all sorts of things turned up, lost socks, Patty's old toys – everything!" she laughed. "That's magic for you, so wonderful and amazing at one moment, and so scary and terrible the next."


	5. Chapter 5

_**Thank you **to everyone who has left reviews on here as well as Shadow Tales and C-Net. I just wanted to take time and make a general thank you to you all, it's really nice to read your thoughts on the story. And I hope you enjoy this next instalment._

* * *

**Chapter Five**

"I'm back!" Penny called, as she entered the manor through the front door. There was no reply. _I suppose I'll have to get used to this, _Penny thought, as she hung up her coat and bag on the hooks next to the door and started for the kitchen. As she made her way through the open foyer towards the kitchen, a cold chill came over her, much like the one she felt yesterday in Prue's nursery, which sent a sharp shiver down her spine. It was the kind of shiver which you feel when you know that you aren't alone, when you are aware of another presence around you but can't quite place it. But there is also that fear of not knowing exactly who or what is with you. Fortunately for Penny Halliwell, she didn't scare easy.

"If there is somebody there, don't bother hiding," she said sternly in a low, monotone voice.

She decided that unlike yesterday, she wasn't going to wait to be attacked, she was going face whoever (or whatever) head on this time. Slowly turning around she looked to her left, and then to her right scanning her surroundings – nothing. But just because she couldn't see anything, didn't mean that there wasn't something there. "I'll give you one more chance," she said, remembering yesterday's events. No reply. But the feeling that something _else_ was in her presence remained, and Penny just knew that she wasn't alone. Besides, after over forty years fighting demons, warlocks and other creatures of darkness, Penny had a pretty good idea if she was in the presence of an evil being or not and this was definitely one of those occasions. Either that or her mind was playing cruel tricks on her.

"What do you want?" she asked, sounding like an angry school teacher, as her nervous eyes batted around the room.

"You!" a deep voice spat from above.

Penny raised her head slightly and saw, hovering in front of the doorway a female demon, who looked ready to pounce. This demon was unlike anything Penny had ever encountered before, and Penny had encountered an eclectic number of demons to say the least. She was thin, dressed in a worn black robe, and her skin was a strange shade of grey, almost slate coloured. Her thick red hair bolted out in all directions, flowing above her head like it was blowing in the wind and her long arms were extended, positioned perfectly for launching an attack on Penny, which going by the animalistic look on her face, wouldn't be too long.

"Who are you," Penny asked, keeping the same low voice as before. This was after all her house, she wanted control of the situation and she was ready to fight for that control.

The demon gave no reply, instead she hovered closer to Penny, who in turn took a few steps back, edging towards the bottom of the staircase. "It's no good trying to run from me witch," the demon smiled, spinning a full three hundred and sixty degrees in air, almost as if she was showing off to Penny, who at this moment in time was out of ideas. All her magic supplies were stockpiled in the attic, with only a few necessities in the kitchen. Besides, she didn't have time to make a vanquishing potion, and as far as she could remember, she hadn't hidden any pre-made potions around where she was standing.

A few moments passed, with neither Penny or the demon taking their eyes off each other as both of them waited for the other to make their move.

"Get out!" Penny raised her voice abruptly, as she felt her mind grasping at a plan which was beginning to form in her head. It wasn't the best plan, or the safest, but considering the situation of an unknown hostile demonic intruder who looked like she was ready to sink her claws into Penny's face at any moment, Penny wasn't going to throw out her one any only plan of survival. "Get out of my house right now!" she repeated in a slow, stern tone.

"I'm sorry, you don't get to give the orders," she spat back, her temper beginning to flair, and with it her hair skin turned a deeper shade of grey.

"I said get out!" Penny's words came out slowly. "I've had a busy couple of days, and the last thing I need is some power hungry, _lower level_ demon to coming uninvited into my house," she emphasised each and every word, especially _lower_ and _level_. She knew, that if you really wanted to get a demon's back up, then throw around those two little words and their temper would get the better of them, and by the looks of things, this demon was no exception.

"Lower level?" she cackled, trying to cover up the offence Penny had caused. "You wish." As she spoke, single fireballs materialised in both of her open palms, "I think it's time for _you_ to get out!"

Penny didn't move, if this plan was to work, then she had to remain calm, make her opponent think that she was the one in control of Penny. "What are you waiting for?" Penny asked. "Your master's permission?" _That last one ought to do it._

Without a reply, the demon lunged both fireballs towards Penny, who hit the floor before they could reach her. Slamming into the staircase and wall, the fireballs extinguished, leaving behind only scorch marks. Immediately summoning two more, the demon edged towards Penny. The flaming balls which had enough energy to kill any human (if the aim was right), swirled in the demon's hands as if she was teasing Penny, making her guess when she was going to hurl them in her direction.

"What are you waiting for?" Penny asked, grasping the stair rail for balance, as she stood to her feet. "Go ahead."

"You are no fun," the demon said, her tone mocking that of a small child bulling another. "Have it you way." She lunged both fireballs at once, Penny without hesitation, threw her right arm in the air, redirecting both fireballs, one flying backwards and hitting the old grandfather clock which stood a few inches away from the them just outside of the living room, scorching the antique heirloom. The other flew towards the demon, hitting her in the chest and sending her hurdling towards the front door where she landed with a bang on the wooden floor. While her enemy was weakened, Penny without hesitation ran into the dining room, jogging around the table and grabbing one of the solid iron fire pokers from the fireplace. Before the demon could get back into the air, Penny ran back into the foyer and directed the fire poker with her power, directly into the demon's chest sending her in a blaze of burning red coloured flames into the demonic wasteland.

"You'll…be…sorry!" she screamed as the flames devoured her, spitting out the usual demonic trash talk as she grasped onto the last strands of life before she was pulled into the wasteland. _I'll be back! There's more to come! I am one of many! _Penny had heard them all before, and remained unfazed by the screams which pierced through the foyer.

"Yeah, yeah," Penny scoffed, watching as the flames burned up, this time not even leaving a mark on the floor below. For some reason that Penny had never been able to figure out, when being vanquished, demon's in general didn't leave much behind. There was the occasional scorch mark left by a potion or two, just like yesterday, or a segment of ear or finger which had blown off in a blast, but on the whole, demons were surprisingly clean when being sucked into the afterlife.

Taking a relieved breath, Penny walked slowly to the couch in the living room and dropped into it, taking a much needed moment of relaxation. _I shouldn't have to run this much at my age_, she thought as her eyes began to close.

"We're back!" Patty announced, opening the front door and wheeling baby Prue inside, making what sounded like more noise than the demon as she was being vanquished. She was followed by Victor who was carrying a collection of shopping bags, probably from an afternoon spent in the city. "Mom, where are you?"

Penny's eyes shot open. _Could your timing be any worse?_ "I'm in here," she said, rising to her tired feet. Wishing that Patty had either arrived a couple of minutes earlier so she would have been on hand to help her in the vanquish, or a few moments later so that Penny could catch her breath.

"Mom? What happened?" Patty asked, spotting her mother's messy hair, her tired eyes, her blouse which hung half off her right shoulder and the single fire poker which was sitting discarded on the floor between the living room and the foyer. "Are you alright?"

Penny shook her head slowly, and considered holding back the truth from her daughter for a moment, but decided that it was time to come clean about her worries, which had since escalated into full blown suspicions. "I've just been attacked…again."

**(X)**

Penny marched up the stairs to the attic, throwing open the door and heading directly for the Book of Shadows.

"Mother, will you please slow down," Patty pleaded as she tried to keep up, still wearing her outdoor coat, which she hadn't had a chance to take off yet. "What is it? What's the rush? What is going on?" Her questions all came out at once, which sounded like a string of incoherent words without any gaps or pauses, but she was worried about her frantic mother, which caused her, in turn to act a little frantic herself out of worry.

"The rush is that I have been attacked twice in two days, by two unrelated and unexpected demons for no reason," she said quickly, in an agitated tone. She threw the Book open and began flicking through the pages, focusing her power on finding the demon who attacked her just moments ago. "I need to know what's going on, I need answers," she fumed, still searching through the Book.

Patty took a seat, and unzipped her jacket. Taking a moment to make sure she worded her speech carefully, she said softly; "I completely understand, but don't go making this one of your missions. Just relax and we'll find out what's going on together, like we always do," she paused, again considering her wording, "are you sure that you haven't caused any upset down there?" she asked finally, keeping her eyes low.

"No," Penny replied sourly, keeping her focus on the Book, which she was still scanning. "It's happened again," Penny said, as the Book landed on another empty page. "This happened yesterday," she said absentmindedly, frowning in confusion at the Book.

"What's going on?" Patty asked.

"I have no idea, but this happened when I tried to find the invisible demon. The Book just stopped on an empty page, I don't know why it's never happened before," she answered, slamming the Book shut in frustration.

"Maybe it's because you've already vanquished the demon? Maybe that's it?" Patty said joining her mother's side opening up the Book. "Or maybe you should try the old fashioned way?" she suggested, as she began flipping quickly though the old pages.

"Patty, I know how to look though the Book, I've been doing it my whole life. Those demons aren't in here."

"It doesn't matter now though surely? You've vanquished them. They are gone," Patty sounded optimistic, but knew that it wouldn't be so easy to convince her mother that everything was going to be fine. In fact, Patty herself didn't truly believe this either, she just didn't want to see her mother getting obsessed and placing all of her emotions into vanquishing demons left and right, risking her life for at this moment, no apparent reason.

"I'm just going to have to stock up on upper level vanquishing potions that's all." Penny made her way over to the table at the other side of the large attic. The table was stocked with all sorts of magical ingredients, tools, candles, vials and spell casting materials. It was in some ways, overstocked, but Penny liked to be prepared and although the kitchen housed more magical necessities, she preferred to keep most of them upstairs with the Book.

"We are out of hemlock root," Patty said, walking over and pointing to the empty box which usually contained their stock of the plant which came in useful in a surprising amount of potions, especially upper level vanquishing potions. "Besides, upper level vanquishing potions require the flesh of the demon you want to vanquish."

"What time is it?" Penny asked aloud, looking at her watch, ignoring Patty's keen observation of the lack of demonic flesh they had in stock. "Ten after five, the magic store will still be open. I'll go now," she said quickly, heading for the door.

Patty sighed as she saw her mother spiralling into another demonic obsession. Penny didn't handle being attacked well, and being defenceless against an unknown demon was perhaps one of her greatest fears. Patty had seen her mother delve into many demonic obsessions over the years, however the timing of this one was completely off. Patty wanted to spend some time with her mother before she moved, of course she would still see her, but it wouldn't be the same and she didn't want their last week living together to be disrupted by demons. In fact, demon hunting was possibly the last thing on Patty's mind right now, which at the moment was full of thoughts of other more normal things.

"Wait! Mom I was hoping that we could chat this evening," Patty pleaded, after all she still had to break the news to her mother that she was moving so far away, plus there was another thing that she had been meaning to talk to her about since this morning, and it was something_ really_ important. "Can't this wait? I mean I understand you want protection, but sometimes protection doesn't always work so good. Sometimes things take you by surprise," she trailed off.

"Patty what on earth are you talking about?" she didn't wait for an answer. "I'll be back soon, we can talk then okay?"

"Sure," Patty sighted as Penny disappeared from the attic. "We'll talk later."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

Penny made her way, on foot, to Tabitha's Magic Shop. Tabitha's was a small magic supply store, located not too far from the manor at only a mile or so away. Usually Penny would drive there, it was much faster, however this evening, Penny had decided to walk, in order to hopefully clear her mind and get recent events into perspective.

_T__wo demons in two days? Neither of them are in the Book and neither were expected. I haven't upset anyone lately have I? No. I couldn't have, things have been fairly quite lately on the demon front, and besides I've been playing babysitter for the past couple of weeks while Patty went looking for what she called, "a home to start a family in". If you ask me, Victor is playing puppet master and she's just doing what she thinks will keep him happy. Or keep her marriage in tact. But that's irrelevant, where was I? Oh, yes. I've been far to preoccupied looking after Prue to go making trouble, so why have these demons suddenly been showing up? And why do I always seem to be the alone when it happens? Patty hasn't been attacked so why is it just me? Perhaps they view me as such a threat? Perhaps they are after something? The Book? The shadow? Or maybe there is something much bigger going on here?_

Shaking her thoughts, questions and worries from her mind, Penny recited her shopping list, double checking that she had remembered everything. Aside from the hemlock root, Penny had decided to pick up some ancient mummy dust and a bag of snake eyes, just to give her potions an extra kick. If she was going to go up against any more unexpected demons, she didn't want to leave anything to chance.

Tabitha's Magic Shop was a small store wedged between a dry cleaners and a pawnbrokers, but it was clearly identified from the outside by it's lavish sign painted in bright red lettering on the front window which read boldly – **TABITHA'S MAGIC SUPPLIES**. Inside a bell chimed as the door was pushed open. The small shop floor was filled almost to the brim with every magical related product imaginable. There were shelves bursting with literature on all sorts of magical topics, tables with selections of crystal balls and candles, and racks full of magical ingredients. To an oblivious onlooker Tabitha's store was nothing more a eccentric little trinket store, run by an equally eccentric old lady. However, for the well informed witches of the city, the store was a resource for everything and anything magical. And that's how Tabitha made her business; she would sell to both magical and non-magical patrons. In the same day she could help a witch who was busy brewing a potion to vanquish a sea demon who was on the verge of an aquatic take-over, and also small town tourist who wanted to take a little bit of San Francisco "charm" back home.

"Good afternoon Tabitha," Penny smiled as she made her way around the shop, greeting the store owner whom she had known for years now.

Tabitha stood behind the counter, busy dusting off what looked like a piece of crystal. She was dressed in a long flowing purple and red patterned dress, with her greying red hair braided down her back. Her pale, skin was without make-up as usual, but her skin was naturally (or perhaps magically) wrinkle free, and didn't need the added lift that make-up provided.

"Hello Penny," she smiled, her gentle voice was almost inaudible to Penny who was at the back of the store, where the more "serious" items were kept. "Is there anything special you were after?" she asked, placing the crystal to one side and preparing a small brown bag to package Penny's purchases. Penny was one of Tabitha's most loyal customers, so she knew the chances of Penny not being able to find what she wanted were slim, however, she always asked just to be polite.

"No, just these will do for now thank you," Penny replied, strolling over the counter and gently placing the items down, and taking out a twenty dollar bill from her bag while Tabitha rung up the items.

"There you go," Tabitha said, "that's nineteen fifty, with your loyalty discount." She handed her the packed bag while simultaneously taking the money.

"Keep the change," Penny smiled, as she took the paper bag and carefully stuffed it into her own shoulder bag.

"See you next time, and good luck with that potion. Must be a mean creature," she winked as Penny headed for the door.

"Thank you Tabitha," Penny waved, as she shot out of the store – she had work to do.

**(X)**

Penny arrived home to find a nervous Patty waiting in the living room. Her only daughter was sat on the couch, seemingly lost in thought, biting endlessly at her nails, not even noticing that her mother had arrived.

"Patty?" Penny questioned. "What's wrong? Was there another attack?" Penny asked, draping her bag and coat over a chair as she rushed to Patty, assuming the worst.

"No. There was no attack," Patty shook her head evasively, her mind going over and over the same thoughts. Penny gently sat down next to Patty on the couch, waiting for her to continue. "I've been hoping to talk to you all day actually, it's just been a bit busy," she shrugged, her voice cracking though a nervous laugh.

"I'm so sorry darling, we can talk now." Penny cupped Patty's hands into her own, she always hated it when Patty bit her nails. "Now come on, what's wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong exactly, just surprising," she said, trying to keep her tone as matter-of-fact as she could, she didn't want to go getting her hopes up just yet.

"Well? What is it?" Penny asked anxiously, completely clueless as to what her daughter had on her mind.

"I…I think I'm pregnant again," Patty said as a wide smile took over her face now that she was finally saying it out loud. Her eyes however, remained the same – nervous and thoughtful. "I took a test this morning and it was positive."

Penny's face lit up. "That's amazing," she gasped, dropping Patty's hands, and clapping her own together in a moment of joy. "That _is_ amazing isn't it?" she asked, noticing Patty's worried eyes. Carefully, Penny, brushed a loose strand of Patty's thick hair behind her shoulder, and made sure her daughter was looking at her.

"Yes, of course it is," Patty smiled. "But," she took a deep breath, "I don't want to get my hopes this early. You know how long it look me to conceive Prue," as she spoke, she began to remember just how trialling it was when she and Victor tried to get pregnant. There was numerous false alarms, setbacks and arguments along the way, and something deep within Patty told her that something about this surprise pregnancy was just too good to be true. Perhaps, she had picked up some hint of her mother's _assume the worst_ attitude, or perhaps she just didn't want to disappoint Victor, or herself for that matter. "I…I haven't told him yet," she said, referring guiltily to Victor.

"Why not?" Penny asked, her eyes still locked on Patty's.

"I wanted to wait until I saw a doctor. After the three false alarms we had trying to get pregnant with Prue and he's been really been busy with work and the moving, I just didn't want him to worry it I wasn't," she explained, listing off the reasons why she had avoiding telling her husband the truth.

"I understand," Penny said, taking her Patty's hands and wrapping hers around them once more. "When is your appointment?" she asked, deciding on skipping any lectures or Victor bashing, and jumping straight to another topic. "You have made an appointment haven't you?"

"I managed to squeeze one in tomorrow morning with Dr. Rothman at nine." After a short pause she asked slowly; "would you come with me?" Feeling slightly silly that she was asking her mother to attend a doctor's appointment with her, her words came out awkwardly and quietly. "Please?"

"Of course I will," Penny said softly, "of course I will."

"And Mom," Patty started, almost beginning to tell her mother about the apartment she and Victor were moving to next week. This along with Patty's pregnancy woes had been weighing her down all day, and now that she was in a confessing mood, she figured why not tell her just how far away they were moving at the same time.

"Yes," Penny asked, through a proud smile.

_Come on Patty you can do this. Come on._ "Thank you," she blurted out, almost instinctively, avoiding the subject yet again. "Thank you for being so supportive."

"It's my pleasure darling. After all I am your mother, it's my job, you can always come to me and tell me anything you know that?"

"Yes," Patty shook her head. _Anything except the fact that my husband, the man you hate, is moving me further away that what you expected._ "Of course I do."

"Good, now I have potions to brew."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter S****even**

Penny and Patty strolled, arms linked, into the large, open waiting room, of Dr. Rothman's office.

"Patricia Halliwell," Patty smiled, to the woman behind the reception desk.

"Just one moment please," the petite, red haired woman smiled, picking up the telephone and wedging the receiver between her ear and her shoulder. "If you could just take a seat, the doctor will see you shortly," she added, as she punched in the number to connect her to Dr. Rothman.

Patty smiled to say thank you, and took a seat with Penny, who had already made herself comfortable next to a table, stacked with a selection of out of date magazines.

"Do you want me to come in with you?" Penny asked, just as a nurse told Patty she could go through into the doctor's office.

"No, I'll be okay. Just wish me luck," Patty said, her voice giddy with excitement, at the possibility of being pregnant.

"Oh, good luck darling, good luck!" Penny gushed hopefully, clasping her hands together, as Patty was lead into an office by the nurse.

**(X)**

Dirty water dripped in sporadic drops, forming a shallow puddle on the gravely cavern floor.

"Look at this place!" Xanthor hissed, stomping his heavy booted foot in the puddle, as he marched restlessly around the dark, dank cavern.

The cavern was being used as his temporary base of operation, or at least it was supposed to be temporary, but that was well over thirty years ago and he was growing impatient. "I was once a rival to The Source, as ruler of the underworld and now look at me, stuck in this hole like a lower level demon."

Xanthor was tall, muscular and darkly handsome, however the years of battle were clearly marked on his ageing face. Scorch marks scarred his pale skin, which creased around his eyes and his mouth as he scowled. His shoulder length, jet black hair, was greasily hanging over his face, masking thick brows, which arched over his blood coloured eyes. He was a demon who had seen a lot in his time, seen all too much defeat and not enough victory, but the will to continue fighting was still there. _Just._ His one last shot at gaining power and respect, was on the horizon, after a long time coming. And he wasn't taking any chances. "This plan has to work."

"Well, you need to find better demons to go after her," Selena suggested flippantly.

Selena was a demonic Seer, which meant, that with the help of her vision pool, she could see the future or the present and if the time called for it, the past. For now however, she was working with Xanthor, on the promise that she would rule by his side once she helped him rise to power. He was using her "talents" to keep track of a certain witch. The witch in question, was Penelope Halliwell, who in time, Xanthor hoped wouldn't pose as a threat to him, and would allow for his plan of underworld domination to be successful. "If you want Penny Halliwell out of the way, you are going to have to step it up a gear, you know how powerful she is."

"Yes, of course I do!" he spat. "But I can't exactly go after her myself, I still haven't recovered fully, I'd be no match for her, not many demons are! My connections are drying up, and we have still came no closer to killing her," his deep voice was filled with anger. "And we are running out of resources."

"Well maybe I could go and find us some more demons," Selena suggested hopefully, simply wanting to please him. "Get the word out."

"No! You know that if The Source found out about us, our plan would never work! He'd kill us before we could get to the witch," he dismissed. "We must keep our profiles as low as possible. I will go and meet with Hath, perhaps he can help us. He too, has been laying low, but as I understand, has also grown restless with life under the rule of The Source."

"Look at this," Selena called, changing the subject, directing Xanthor to look into the large water pool, which she was staring into. The pool was set in a stone well, in the middle of the small cavern. When Selena would get a vision, an image or impression would form in the water, giving her a glimpse of the past, present, or future. "She is alone, the daughter is preoccupied. Shall I summon one of the others?" Selena gazed into the pool which showed, an image, formed in water, of Penny Halliwell, sitting in the waiting room of the doctor's office.

"No. Wait." Xanthor demanded, shooting her down, before she had the chance to go on. "I don't want to risk it. She is in a public place, I cannot afford an exposure now! Not after all this time, not after all I've been though to get here," he turned away from the pool and Serena, who automatically followed him.

Selena was tall, curvy, and very beautiful. She had locks of dark brown hair, and was dressed, not so appropriately for the cold temperature of the neglected cavern, in a torn, knee-length black dress. Selena admired Xanthor, and after years of serving him, she had grown close to him. If it was at all possible for her to feel love, then that was what she felt for him. And she would do _anything_ for him. She left her fellow Seers in order to join Xanthor's crusade, after he offered her a seat next to him in return for her services. Since then, the two of them had spent every waking moment in this cavern, watching and plotting against Penny Halliwell. Using up their limited resources in hope of taking her out. But with Xanthor still not at full strength, and Selena's limited active powers as a Seer, neither of them were powerful enough to go up against Penny alone.

"All I need to do is defeat the witch, and then no one, witch or demon will be able to stop me!" His deep voice echoed around the cavern, filling the make-shift lair with a sense of doom.

"I am going to meet with Hath," he announced, after a long pause. "I should be back within the hour," he added, before weakly shimmering out, not looking at Selena to say goodbye.

After his exit, Selena rushed over to the pool. Throwing her long dark hair over he shoulders and out of her eyes, she rippled the surface of the water with her fingers, and gazed into the pool, as a new vision made itself clear to her.

**(X)**

_Come on Patty._ Penny was growing restless. She had grew tired of the trivial entertainment magazine which she had picked up, and read in all of thirty seconds, and she wasn't interested in any of the others on offer. All she wanted to know was if she would be welcoming another grandchild into the family in nine months time.

"I'm pregnant!" Patty said ecstatically, emerging from Dr. Rothman's office, taking Penny by surprise. With open arms she rushed over and threw her arms around Penny. "I'm pregnant! Can you believe it?"

"That's amazing sweetheart," Penny congratulated, hugging her daughter as tightly as she could.

"I've got to tell Victor!" Patty realized jumping back quickly, "I'll be right back, I just need to find a phone," she said, running over to the nurse's station.

"I'm going to be a Grams again," Penny smiled, sitting back comfortably.

The thought of welcoming another granddaughter into the world, somehow seemed to lift the weight of recent events, as well as any future attacks, and for the first time in days, Penny found herself completely at peace, with not a demonic or magical thought in her mind.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter ****Eight**

"I'm thinking another _P_ name would be perfect."

Patty sat, comfortably snug next to Victor, who had both of his arms wrapped lovingly around her. "Something like Paulette or Pippa."

"Do we know it's a girl?" Victor asked, a tone of hopefulness in his voice, that perhaps he would get a son. He had always wished that he and Patty would have both a son and a daughter, but he knew chances of that were slim, since for some reason, the Halliwell family were generally comprised of women, which medically speaking was weird, but in a family such as theirs, it wasn't even given a second thought. "Who am I kidding, of course it's a girl!"

"Probably," she laughed, kissing his hand which sat on her shoulder. "For some reason, it seems to work out that way. No boys aloud."

"Do you think your Mother has anything to do with it?" Victor joked, but after a second, considered the thought. "Actually…"

"No! My Mother doesn't have anything to do with it. I think."

The pair were sat up in bed, it was well past midnight, but the excitement of the day's news had left them restless and unable to settle for long enough to drift off to sleep. Which, judging from the sounds that were coming from the attic above them, it was a blessing that they were too excited to sleep. Loud bangs and crashes were echoing through the floorboards. "What is my Mother doing up there?"

"God knows," Victor sighed dismissively. He had lost count of the times he and Patty had not been able to get to sleep at night, because of Penny loudly brewing potions, or summoning demons to the attic, at all hours of the night. "I'm sure she's fine," he said, kissing her head.

"I should go and check on her," Patty said, slipping out of Victor's arms and throwing on her robe. "Who knows what she's up to now. I thought this demon thing had settled for a while."

"Leave her, come on come back to bed," Victor said, with suggestive eyes as Patty walked to the door.

"Victor. Not _again_," she smiled. "I'll be back soon."

**(X)**

"Mother!" Patty shrieked, as she arrived at the attic doorway to find Penny being attacked by yet another demon. And from where she was standing, this didn't appear to be of Penny's own doing.

Penny stood, squared up against a tall snarling creature, its teeth were exposed, as if were a growling dog and its back was arched, as it bent over her, casting a thick black shadow across her face. It had thick, muscular arms, which lead down to its clawed fingers, where it had four extended claws on each hand and it was ready to make a move. "What the hell is that?" she asked, her voice panicked as she edged closer.

"Freeze it Patty!" Penny called. "Now!"

Patty moved closer to the creature, and extended her arms, freezing the assassin in it's tracks. But the freeze seemed to wear off in less than a second. Ridgeley breaking free of Patty's freeze, the demon growled in anger as it moved closer to Penny, ignoring Patty all together, she didn't appear to be of his concern.

"Use your power, Mom!" Patty called, running over to the table and searching for a potion to use on the demon. Unfortunately for Patty, Penny wasn't one to label her large array of magical concoctions and she couldn't distinguish between the small liquid filled vials.

"Don't you think I've tried!" Penny spat, edging away from the demon.

"Which one do I use?!"

The demon raised it's claws, which extended high above Penny's head. "Say good night witch," it snarled through its teeth, the words almost lost in its growl. With one easy swoop, the demon ripped it's way from Penny's left shoulder, down her arm. With blood dripping from her wounded arm, she fell to the floor, her good arm, tightly gripped around her wound in an attempt to keep herself from loosing blood.

"Get away from my Mother!" Patty screamed, picking up the mixing bowl, which was still warm from when Penny had been brewing potions in it, and threw the containing mixture over the demon. She did not know what was inside the potion, but she didn't care, if she didn't act quickly Penny's wound could turn fatal.

She quickly discarded the mixing bowl, which hit the wooden floor with a bang. She picked up a few vials from the table and hurled them towards the demon, who was seconds away from making another move on Penny, one which might finish her off all together. The creature began to burn up, as the additional potions started to take effect. Its cracked skin sizzled as it combusted in a rippling, bright blue vortex, sending its essence to the demonic wasteland. Only a slight scorch mark on the wooden floorboards below where it stood, was all that was left.

"Mom!" Patty rushed to Penny's side, propping her up in her arms. "Stay awake. Sam! Sam!" she called desperately and instinctively, as she tightly clenched her wounded mother. This was the first time that Patty had ever seen a demon get this close to killing Penny, and after all these years she had never seen her mother so defeated in the presence of a demon. "Sam!"

On cue in a glow of white and blue orbs, Sam materialised, standing over Penny and Patty. "What happened?" he asked, not waiting for a response, as he dropped to his knees to heal Penny.

As he held his hands over her wound, golden rays appeared, which he motioned over the deep incision which ran vertically down her arm, and within moments, the wound had disappeared, the blood was gone and Penny was healed.

"What the…" Penny's voice croaked as her eyes fluttered open, weakened by the extensive injuries that just seconds ago had been life threatening.

"It's okay, Mom. Just rest," Patty said, still cradling Penny in her arms. "Thank you," she mouthed to Sam, throwing him a caring smile.

"Any time," he replied, standing to his feet, not taking his gaze off Patty's eyes. Sam's mousey brown hair was combed back, and he was dressed, as usual in a red and white plaid shirt and jeans. "What happened?" he asked.

"A demon," Patty said simply.

"Well I gathered that. Why?"

"That's what I would like to know," Patty said, looking down at her mother, who was struggling to keep her eyes open. "But right now, I think she needs some rest."

"Is there anything else you need? Usually I wouldn't be so quick to leave, but I have a charge in Venice who is under attack from a group of Scather demons." Sam had been Patty's whitelighter for a few years now, but they didn't see a great deal of each other unless it was in a situation such as this, which was a shame for the two of them, who enjoyed each other's company. Sam, especially enjoyed spending time with Patty, but as she was a full time mother, witch, wife and waitress, she didn't have a lot of time for socialising.

"Oh, sorry. Go, everything should be fine," Patty answered. "You are only an orb away if we need you again," Patty added softly, with a smile.

"Okay then," he nodded, disappearing into orbs, and floating out into the ether, making his way back to his Venice based charge.

"Come on let's get you to bed," Patty said, helping Penny to her feet.

"Patty, I am not a child, I can take care of myself," Penny replied coldly, feeling a combination of embarrassment, personal disappointment and fear after what had just happened.

"Well obviously not, now come on go to bed. We can talk about this in the morning!" Patty resumed control of the situation, ushering her reluctant mother out of the attic.

**(X)**

"What happened? I was just coming up the check on you two, it sounded like a bomb was going off up there!" Victor said, his voice full of worry as he met the two women at the base of the attic staircase. "Are you alright Penny?" he asked, in a rare moment of compassion for his mother-in-law.

"Yes, I am fine. I wish people would stop fussing over me."

"I'll tell you in a minute," Patty whispered, throwing Victor a look, before leading Penny to her bedroom. _Demon?_ He guessed to himself. _Of course, it always is a demon isn't it?_

**(X)**

"No! He failed!" Xanthor screamed venomously, his fist thumping against the surface of Selena's vision pool, causing the image of the empty Halliwell attic to rippled and disappear.

"I'm sorry, I didn't anticipate the other witch, I couldn't feel her in my vision," Selena apologised, feeling genuine remorse for letting Xanthor down. "I'll do better next time, I promise," she pleaded. "I'll concentrate harder on the whole family, not just Penny."

"Next time?" he lunged himself towards Selena, throwing her to the ground "I don't think there will be a next time. I am running out of allies! Hath was the most powerful demon I had contact with left!"

Selena looked up to him. Guilt was written all across her face. "You've still got one more," her words captured his attention, and he fixed his red eyes on her. "Me," she said in a low, nervous voice. "I'll take care of Penny Halliwell for you."

"What do you mean? You don't have that kind of power," Xanthor argued.

"I may not have the same level of power that the others had, but I have one thing they don't."

"What would that be?" Xanthor asked, his tone curious and impressed at the same time.

"A plan of attack," she replied, a devilish smile crossing her face. "One that I've checked out, and trust me, this will work. I will finish Penny Halliwell off altogether, and then we can rule this place. Together."


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter ****Nine**

"Good morning, Mom."

Patty pushed open Penny's bedroom door with her back, as she balanced a breakfast tray in her arms. On the wooden breakfast tray sat; a glass of orange juice, a bowl of fresh fruit and two slices of lightly buttered toast.

"Patty, I do wish you would stop fussing over me, I am neither a child nor an invalid," Penny hissed, sitting up in bed. Although she was just attempting to save face, Penny was actually grateful for her daughter's kindness and couldn't remember the last time she had been served breakfast in bed, if ever at all.

"Okay then I guess Victor will just have to enjoy this instead," Patty teased, turning for the door.

_I'll be damned if he gets my breakfast in bed_, she thought pettily. "Don't be silly, Patty," she smiled. "Thank you," she added sincerely.

"Here you go." Patty sat the tray down next to Penny, and took a seat at the foot of the bed. "Now, about last night," she spoke softly, after pausing to let Penny make a start on her breakfast. She had opted to begin with the toast, a good idea considering it had rapidly began cooling since she removed it from the toaster and there was nothing worse than cold, soggy toast.

"There is nothing to tell, I was attacked," Penny shrugged off Patty concerns, taking a sip of the freshly squeezed orange juice. "It happens all the time." She gently patted her lip with a handkerchief she had retired from the nightstand and returned to the toast.

"No, it doesn't Mom! Not like this. For the past few days it has almost been like you have been the target of some kind of attack, an assassination even. And considering the fact that none of them have been in the Book, is worrying me quite a bit. I looked last night after you went to bed, that snarling demon that attacked out wasn't in the Book either. I called Sam who spoke to the Elders and they say they've never heard of such a breed of demon," she lectured, again feeling as if the mother-daughter relationship had been inverted. "Look, I am not going to let you deal with this alone," she said softly.

Penny put down the toast and turned to meet Patty's gaze. She was the mother, which meant that she was supposed to worry about Patty, not the other way around. It not only made her feel guilty for loading all of this on Patty, but it made her feel, in some ways defeated, almost as if the demons had won already by casing such an upset. And Penny Halliwell was not a woman who admitted defeat easily.

"It's just there are no leads, nothing to go on so I don't really know how to act on all of this. Usually we'd stumble upon one of their outlandish plans of Underworld domination, or there would be a murder which was causing the police some bother." She took a moment to collect her thoughts, and found herself debating internally whether to go on. "If I'm being honest, it makes me feel weak and I don't like it." She paused, after realising she had admitted more than she would have liked. Self admission of fear or defeat did not come easily to Penny.

Patty took a deep breath. It had been a busy few days. First there was the moving, which she still hadn't told Penny the true specifications of, then along came the pregnancy news which seemed to lighten the week and to top it all off her mother seemed to be the target of a demonic assassination, which meant that Patty couldn't enjoy her news while her mother fell victim to an unknown force. It had been a rocky week at best. _Life as witch in the 1970's – it's never dull._ "We will think of something, we have to it's what we do. Together."

"But not for much longer though. Then the demons really will have a field day," Penny admitted. "Once we are living apart, we won't have each other for back-up, like last night. We work much better together as a team. It's lucky that the demons don't seem to know that you are planning on moving out, or I'm sure they would have delayed their plans to kill me," she said, feigning a smile.

"Mom, don't act like we'll never see each other again, I'll stop by every day," Patty smiled, still avoiding telling her that she and Victor were moving right across town. "But right now we have a bigger problem," said moving on, to an arguably more pressing matter. "A demon could attack any moment, a demon we aren't prepared for. We can't keep planning on getting lucky that your potion stash will do the job for us."

"We need plan," Penny interrupted, keeping her head high. "I say we summon a demon. Just some lower level piece of trash and get him to work with us. Get him to scope around in the underworld and find out what's going on."

"Do you think that would work, demons can be slippery at best and it's not exactly like they'd have a good reason to work with us." Patty took a few pieces of the diced fruit, wondering if her pregnancy cravings were already kicking in, since never usually picked at other people's food.

"Do you have a better idea?" Penny raised an eyebrow. No response. "I didn't think so. Now, come on up and at 'em," Penny threw off the bed sheets and slipped into her slippers. She was eager to put her plan into motion, which admittedly wasn't her finest, but considering the brick wall they were currently stood behind with no other way of getting around it, a slipper plan was better than no plan.

"Penny! You have a visitor!" Victor called from downstairs, just as she was reaching for her robe.

"I wonder who it could be at this hour?" Patty asked, hopping of the bed and picking up the tray.

**(X)**

Downstairs, Victor was standing at the front door, nursing baby Prue in his arms, tending to a beautiful young woman. "Who is this?" Patty asked, following Penny downstairs, who had taken a moment to quickly fasten and secure her robe over her night time clothes.

"This is Selena," Victor said, unwittingly allowing the demonic Seer to enter the house. "Penny she says she is here to talk to you."

"Really, because I've never seen this woman before in my life," Penny said bluntly.

"Penelope Halliwell?" Selena moved closer to Penny. As she did, Penny wrapped her arms around her waist, making sure to keep a distance from the stranger. _Demons don't always have to be huge snarling creatures,_ she reminded herself.

"I have some information, I think it's best if we talked in private," she suggested in a low voice, lowing herself to Penny's height. Her attempt at secrecy was lost on Patty who made sure she heard every word.

"Who are you?" Penny asked suspiciously.

"All will be explained in due course, now can we talk in private?" Selena pushed. Penny could sense that there was something off about this impromptu visit from a complete stranger, but she though it would be best to play along for the moment. "It is of great importance."

"Yes, come though into the living room." Penny pointed the mystery guest in the direction of the Halliwell living room.

"Mom, who is that?" Patty whispered, as Slena turned to walk into the living room.

"I don't know, but don't worry, I'm prepared for the worst," she said, tapping her dress pocket, and winking at Patty. "Freshly brewed last night. Not my strongest, but we know what happened to that batch don't we?" she asked rhetorically, referencing last night's struggle in the attic.

Penny joined Selena in the living room, who had already found a seat on the couch. She had her dark hair tied neatly behind her head, and instead of her usual more skimpy attire, she had opted for a cream coloured blouse, and matching skirt. Something which made her look a lot more human. And a lot less threatening.

"Can I get you anything a drink? Something to eat?" Penny asked routinely, as if Selena was normal company.

"No, I'm not here to socialise, I come bearing news. News that could save your life," she said, her dark eyes, locked on Penny's.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter ****Ten**

"What do you mean save my life?" Penny stood up, feeling that on her fee she was more prepared if Selena was in fact here to cause trouble. "Who _are_ you?"

"I am someone who can help you, just like I said," Selena enforced, in a very matter-of-fact tone. She stiffened her back, attempting to remain as poised as she could. She ran her hands down her sleeves, she getting accustomed to the feel of human clothes. Penny's eyes watched her every move, and the sight of dirt on Selena's hands didn't go unnoticed. Selena quickly settled her hands in her lap, balling them together to keep them as hidden as possible.

"A name. I meant what is your name?" Penny asked sternly, feeling her patience slipping more and more by the second but after catching glimpse of Selena's dirty hands, she was eager to speed things up.

"My name is Selena," she smiled, feeling her face tighten. She didn't smile often, and when she did it was usually caused by a glimpse into some poor soul's future where she saw them meeting their untimely and often horrifying death at the hands of a demon.

"Selena. Selena who?" Penny probed.

"Just Selena. You don't need to know anything else."

"I'd like to know why your hands are so dirty while your clothes are immaculate." Penny let her right arm slip into her pocket and tightly gripped the small potion bottle, leaving her left arm free to use her power if needed.

"I am a Seer," she said slowly and to Penny's surprise. "I've seen your future, and mine, and neither of them is too bright. That's why I am here, I feel that I can help you. And you me."

Penny backed away a few steps. "A _demonic_ Seer?" she asked in a low, slightly trembling voice. _And it's not even nine a.m. this has to be a new record._ "I knew it! No human would have hands that dirty at this time of the morning while dressed like you are." She thought about asking Selena where exactly she acquired her human clothing, but considering that she was almost at maximum patience with her guest already, she pushed that thought to the back of her mind. No use in prolonging the conversation.

"Yes but you don't need to fear me. And you certainly don't need those I come with a good purpose, if a little selfish," she smirked focusing her stare on Penny's pocket. "Now, sit down. I can prove to you that I am of noble intentions."

Penny mulled over Selena's request. _Could she be double crossing me? Can I trust her? What is Selena hoping to get out of this? _Eventually, she took a reluctant seat next to Selena realising that while powerful in their own rights, seers weren't usually know for the fighting abilities.

"Go on. Prove to me that you pose no threat to me or my family." Penny remained cautious. She knew that she couldn't trust Selena, but she decided that there was no use jumping head first into yet another battle. Listening to Selena was for now the best option. She was fully aware that there was a great chance that Selena was spinning nothing more than a long yarn of lies and deceit, but there was also a chance that she was being honest with her. Admittedly a very slim chance, but Penny was beginning to grow tired of the constant cat and mouse games that the underworld seemed to be playing with her lately. Perhaps listening to Selena would provide her with the means to put an end to this latest and somewhat erratic battle.

"Very well." Selena took Penny's hands and cupped her own around them. "Close your eyes and all will become clear."

"Wait a moment," Penny napped. "Patty! Could you come here please!" she called. If she was going to sit eyes closed with a demon, she wanted a bit of reassurance. And after last night's events, she did not want to cut it that close again.

"What is it?" Patty asked, walking in from the kitchen, where she had obviously been eavesdropping after she and Victor had made themselves scarce, leaving the two women in private.

"One false move from her and you use your power on her, do you understand?" Penny asked, knowing that Patty had likely been listening in on them, so there was no use in going over everything again.

Patty nodded, and shot a stern look at Selena. "I do."

"Okay, now let's get this over with," Penny said stiffly.

"Are you ready?" Selena asked, shaking off Patty's frosty reception.

Her eyes began to glow a fantastic purple, as she began the process. "I want you to use your power to move my thoughts into your mind."

Sceptical of the process, Penny closed reluctantly closed her eyes. After a few moments her head lit up with images, all being channelled to her by Selena. "What are you showing me?"

Selena did not reply, she simply let the visions move from her mind into Penny's, as she sorted through them, looking for one particular vision, she knew would make Penny help her.

As Selena's thoughts passed into her mind, Penny saw flashes of demonic wars, magic being exposed on earth, riots, witch hunts and the underworld descending into a state of anarchy. All these images and more flashed by so quickly, she could barely take them in, however the final image stopped as Selena found the image she so desperately wanted Penny to receive.

_R__ain poured gloomily soaking the entire graveyard as Patty Halliwell walked slowly, a fresh bunch of lilies in her arms, eventually stopping at the grave stone of Penelope Halliwell. Born June 23 1930, died March 8 1973. Heavily pregnant, Patty struggled to her knees and set the flowers down on the ground, propping them up against her mother's headstone. As tears flooded from her eyes, she began to speak._

"_I…miss…you…so…much," she fought to speak against the tears. "I'm so sorry I couldn't save you. I am so sorry you had to die at the hands of that monster and that I couldn't be there." The rain continued to pour, soaking Patty completely to the bone, but she didn't care. She had visited this grave every week since Penny's death, and a rain shower was not going to stop her. "I'm almost due, we've decided to call her Penelope after her Grams," Patty said, a smile crossing her face for just a second. "I've tried to summon you, but the Elders claim I'm not ready emotionally to see you yet." _

_She ran her fingers over the letters on Penny's headstone. The words read; __**A loving mother and grandmother, one of the most charming women to grace the earth. **_

"What the hell was that?" Penny's eyes flew open and she abruptly snatched her hands away from Selena. "What was that?" she repeated rising to meet Patty.

"What's wrong, Mom? What happened?" Patty didn't have the greatest knowledge of Seers, but she knew that some talented Seers could transfer their visions to other none psychic beings essentially allowing one to see their own future. "What did you do?" she snapped, moving towards Selena in defence of her mother.

"We can still stop that from happening!" Selena said, dismissing Patty's question. "With my help you can stop that from happening!"

"Stop what? What's happening? What's going on?" Patty stammered, looking at both women for an answer.

"My death," Penny said grimly, without making eye contact with either of them. "I've just seen my death."

She moved away from Patty, and moved to stand in front of the fireplace, leaning against the mantle for support as she cradled her head in her hands. Death at the hands of a demon was perhaps one of Penny's greatest fears, and after the week's events so far, she wasn't sure if she had the fight left in her to deal with a demon that could potentially kill her, and if the vision was true it was a demon that she faced alone.

"What does that mean? Why? When?" Patty stumbled over her words. Her mother's death was something she couldn't even bare to think about, so the possibility of it happening soon was too much for her to take in. "Will someone please tell me!"

"Relax, I am here to make sure that doesn't happen, not by _Xanthor's_ hand at least," Selena said, revealing the name of her master, as she fought against a smirk which was desperately trying to cross her face.

"Xanthor? Who is that?" Patty asked when Penny remained silent.

"He is the demon I have been working with," she paused. "I thought I had been working with," she corrected. "As it turns out, I was nothing more to him than disposable once he got what he wanted," she hissed bitterly. "That's one of the perks of being able to see your own future. You know when someone is going to double cross you."

"And what does he want?" Patty inquired, trying to understand where her mother came into Selena's plans.

"He wants to rule the underworld," she said matter-of-factly. She turned to Penny, who was still silent. "We need to stop him."

"How?" Penny asked, giving herself a much needed shake as she felt the pieces slowly come together.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

The three women; Patty, Penny and Selena marched into the Halliwell attic. Penny and Patty immediately went to the Book while Selena began showing herself around.

"You won't find him in there," she said confidentially, as she looked through the Halliwell's potion selection. "Impressive," she smiled, sniffing a freshly brewed Grimlock vanquishing potion.

"Why?" Penny walked over to Selena, snatching the vial out of her hand and placing it back on the table. "Keep your hands where I can see them," she ordered.

"Because no witch has ever got close enough to vanquishing him to put him in your little Book of Shadows," she said in a mocking tone as she examined the Book. "So this is the Book of Shadows. I thought it would be bigger," she smiled reaching out to touch it. Patty deliberated whether or not to warn Selena of the dangers of a demon touching the Book she decided against it. Selena could always find out for herself. Her hands only millimetres away from the Book were rebounded, sending the Seer flying back across the room and landing in a heap on top of a stack of old newspapers.

"It was worth a try," she confessed, standing and brushing herself off. "Where was I?"

"You were just about to big up your boss some more," Penny said in a stern but catty tone.

"They have all died in the process," she continued, "yes some have managed to weaken him, one witch in particular apparently came close decades ago, but like the others she too perished in the process," Selena smirked and turned her attention to the potion table. "Nothing on this table will be strong enough, he is upper level remember."

"We aren't exactly new at this," Penny snapped. "Together we've taken down demons without so much as a potion in our hands. We always find a way."

"He may not be at full strength right now, but you can use that to your advantage."

Patty moved closer to Selena "Why?"

"Because it will be easier for you to get closer to him."

"To take some of his flesh to make a vanquishing potion with," Penny cut Selena off, regaining the upper hand.

"Yes," Selena pouted, turning her attention again to the potion table.

"Don't touch," Penny warned.

"Wouldn't dream of it," Selena smirked. She untied her long dark hair from the bun she had placed it in earlier during an attempt to look more human and shook her head slowly to allow her hair to sit comfortably on her shoulders. 'Much better," she said. "I feel a lot more like myself now."

"While this is fascinating," Patty said, reigning in the two women. "How do we get close enough to vanquish him?"

"Leave that up to me," Selena smiled.

**(X)**

Hours had passed since Selena's arrival, plans had been formed and potions had been brewed. Victor had taken Prue over to Gail's on Patty's strict orders. He himself had reluctantly agreed to also stay there for the evening.

"So are we ready?" Patty said eagerly, picking up a vial from the table.

"We?" Selena questioned. "I though that this was your mother's fight not yours."

Patty frowned, "I am coming," she insisted, handing the vial to Penny as she circled around the table and approached Selena. "You said it yourself, these potions won't work on him the best they'll do is keep him distracted long enough for us to get a piece of his flesh."

"I think it would be best if you stayed here, kept an eye on the place while we are gone, just in case Xanthor has any other plans even _I_ don't know about," Selena said, her deep voice, overpowering Patty's more gentle tone. "Besides I thought I was the main distraction?"

"I think she's right," Penny agreed, "you should stay here darling. Just to be on the safe side in case there's any trouble here."

"Mom, I am coming with you," Patty argued.

Penny shook her head, even she didn't know the extent of Xanthor's true strength, and if anything happened to Patty or her unborn baby, then Penny would never be able to forgive herself. Patty was staying put. "No, stay here," Penny said softly, walking Patty to the other side of the attic. Handing Patty back the vial she had just given her she said, "I don't think I'll need this, Selena can shimmer."

"Keep it, if you are in trouble, use it," Patty whispered, somewhat resentful that she wasn't going, but at the same time, worried for her mother's safety. The dark recesses of the demonic underworld wasn't something that either of them were well versed in, so naturally Patty was worried for her mother's safety as she was about to step into the unknown. "Please, just keep that with you."

"Are you ready?" Selena asked, her tone more of a bark than a request. "I want to take him by surprise."

Penny quickly took the potion and placed it into her pocket remembering at the same time that she had transferred the potion she had stowed away in her dressing gown shortly before Selena's arrival into her jeans pocket while she was getting dressed earlier this morning.

She reached out and picked up an atheme, from the bookshelf adjacent to the Book of Shadows. Penny didn't like carrying weaponry and she looked down on those demons that did. Weapons almost never helped in a combat situation, they only made things worse for both parties however, this time Penny had a special job to do in the form of slicing and dicing Xanthor in order to acquire a piece of his flesh for the vanquishing potion. "I'll be okay," she mouthed to Patty before turning to face Selena. "Let's go."

**(X)**

Selena shimmered herself and Penny into the middle of Xanthor's small, dark lair, who as far as Penny could see wasn't around. She gazed around at the largely empty lair, aside from Selena's vision pool taking up a lot of room in the centre of the cavern, there wasn't much else here. _How depressing,_ she thought to herself, disgusted that someone could actually live here. _How Gail would love to get her hands (and her glue gun) on this place_, she mused thinking of her friend's love for making her surroundings as aesthetically pleasing as possible.

"Where is he?" Penny asked, shaking all thoughts of her personal life out of her head. This wasn't the time for such thoughts. After all she had work to do.

"He should be back soon," Selena replied, keeping her eyes fixed on Penny's every move. "In fact, I think he may be coming right…NOW!" she announced as if calling for someone.

In turn, Xanthor stepped out of the shadows and joined Selena at her side. As she welcomed him with a devilish smile, Penny felt a knot in her stomach tighten as she got the overwhelming feeling that she had been double crossed.

"What's going on?" Penny asked, trying to keep her composure and failing miserably. Her eyes lit up with terror as she finally came face to face with her tormentor. And it was sight that for some long forgotten reason that sent shivers down Penny's spine.

"Well done Selena." His deep voice rumbled through Penny. "Nice work," he said, locking his eyes on Penny. Suddenly, she found herself frozen, unable to move as she stared into the black eyes of Xanthor and then a harrowing sense of realization came over her. She had met Xanthor before, in the past.

"You," her voice quivered, "I know you." She carefully looked over his dark features, and although time was beginning to show on his face, Penny knew that this was the same demon from her past.

"And I you," he replied. "It's a shame the reunion will be short lasting." As he spoke a fireball began to materialize in his hand. _Run!_ Penny told herself, but she couldn't, she was frozen. _Come on! Fight him!_

"What? Have you lost your fight?" Selena asked enjoying this scene all too much. Penny watched Selena as she ran her hands over Xanthor's hard chest and loving every moment of it. Penny was disgusted. This whole situation was spiralling out of control before her very eyes and all she could do was stand and wait to be killed while her double-crosser was waiting with bated breath for Penny to breathe her last breath.

"Kill her," Selena whispered, but Penny could still make out what she was saying. "Kill her and the vision will come true."

Penny was still frozen. Frozen by shock? By fear? She didn't know, but one thing she did know was that she wasn't going to let this happen. She couldn't let this happen. Not after all this time, this was not how it was all going to end for Penelope Halliwell. And she was certainly not going down without a fight.

As she began to formulate her exit strategy the realisation of where she had seen Xanthor before started to become clearer. The memory of his face was one she had long ago tried to block out, but it was still there. Still tormenting her after all this time, and now she was standing face to face with him. Xanthor was the monster that killed her grandmother.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve**

Penny's feet were glued to the ground below her.

Her mind was telling her to move, but something deep inside of her wouldn't let her. She couldn't believe that after all this time, she had came face to face with the demon who had murdered her grandmother. And all she could do was stand and stare into his black soulless eyes.

"Look at her, you've finally won," Selena gloated, still pawing at Xanthor. "You have defeated Penny Halliwell," the double-crossing Seer boasted. Xanthor shook her hand off his chest, and concentrated on Penny. They were on his turf now, and failure wasn't an option. He had waited a long, long time for this moment and until Selena came to him with a vision that made it appear possible, he had never even contemplated going after her. Not after what her grandmother did to him.

Something in Selena's words rang through Penny's mind. _Defeated?_ _Me – Penny Halliwell? I'm not giving up quite just yet._ "I don't think so," Penny said slowly, as she ripped out two vials from her dress pocket, the one Patty had given her earlier for an emergency and the other one she had placed in there earlier when Selena first showed up. _At least I know what one of them does._

She threw her potion quickly in the direction of the two demons and finally brining herself to move. "How's this for defeated," she smiled as she watched the vials flying towards the two demons. But not even a witch with such expertise as Penny could have predicted what happened next.

Selena telekinetically diverted the potion which hurdled towards her, instead changing its path so Xanthor became its new destination. As the bottle broke Xanthor began to burn. He felt the floor beneath him open and fire consuming him. Penny stood in shock as she watched her most feared enemy being swallowed whole by the demonic wasteland while Selena stood proud and victorious.

"What the hell is going on? I thought he was upper –level!"

"He was. About forty years ago. After his encounter with _your_ family he became nothing more than a shell of the demon he once was," Selena gloated. "And now I'm one step closer to my ultimate goal." Selena let her words end on a dramatic high hoping to spook Penny into begging for answers. She had worked on this plan for months, and now that it was moving into the final phase she could practically taste the victory.

Penny had two options. She still had the atheme and she could try and use that to kill Selena, but even she wasn't desperate enough to be that stupid. Or she could use the potion Patty had given to her and run home to reformulate the plan. Of course staying would allow her to get to the bottom of the mystery. What was Selena really up to and where did Xanthor factor into her big plan?

Hating that she was running from her problems, Penny took the vial and removed the stopper and dropped it to the ground. "This isn't the last you've seen of me," she warned.

Seconds later, Penny found herself, materialised by a cloud of smoke, in the centre of the attic. _It worked._

"Mom? What's going on?" Patty asked, rushing to Penny's side. Patty hadn't moved from the spot where Penny had left her, although that was mere minutes ago, it felt like hours to Penny who in the space of five minutes, had been reminded of a memory from so long ago, that she had tried to suppress all these years and double crossed by a vicious demonic Seer who wasn't quite finished with her yet.

"They tricked us. Selena double crossed us," Penny explained, trying to keep calm. "That's not all," she said grimly, "there's something I need to tell you."

**(X)**

The Halliwell grandfather clock chimed twelve – midnight. Penny and Patty sat in the living room, discussing the days events as well as some deep buried secrets. Surrounded by various family heirlooms and photographs of relatives of years gone by this was the perfect place to let Patty in on an event which Penny has never been able to discuss with anyone.

"When I was a girl, my grandmother used to pick me up from school," Penny started. "We would come back and go straight up to the attic and we would cast spells and make potions. But it was not out of sheer frivolity, she wanted me to learn how magic worked, how ingredients work together in potions. She wanted me to see magic at work not just accept that magic existed and that I was a witch."

Patty took her hands and wrapped them tightly around her mother's which sat cupped in her lap. Patty knew this was hard, and she was beginning to piece together the story for herself, but she wanted to let her mother finish. "One day I arrived at the manor, she was running late to pick me up, so I walked home after school and I found her under attack from a demon. A demon who I now know was Xanthor."

_**1942**_

_Penny Halliwell skipped into the manor through the back door. Hanging up, like she did almost every other day after school, her brown leather satchel and preceded to the living room. "Grandmamma, are you here?" she asked innocently after being left to find her own way home because of her Grandmother's no-show. _

"_Grandmamma!" she screamed, as she saw a tribe of four demons, lead by a tall, muscular leader with dark greasy hair clung to his face. The leader was ready and waiting with a large fireball, and although she was only twelve years old, Penny knew that it had her grandmother's name on it. _

"_Go, get out of her darling!" Penny's grandmother, who crouched helplessly at the bottom the staircase called out as loud as she could "run!" _

"_Get her!" Xanthor ordered, his words a hiss__ of anger. The remaining three demons ran after Penny, who began circling around the room, not wanting to leave her grandmamma alone. _

"_Penny! I said get out of here!" she cried, clutching a potion vial in her hand so tightly that she could feel the glass was ready to burst any moment. _

"_Shut up!" Xanthor hurled the fireball in her direction, hitting and killing her on impact. But as she fell to the ground, the vial she had been holding onto ever so tightly fell with her, which on impact of the hard wooden floor, shattered, releasing the power stripping potion from within. _

_Xanthor screamed, alerting the other three demons to his side as the potion hit him. "Get me out of here!" he screamed in agony, as he felt his powers, his precious powers which he had worked for over a millennia to collect, one by one draining from his body. _

"_What about the girl?" one of the demon minions asked._

"_Forget her, let's go!"_

_After the demons had vacated the house, Penny crawled out from under a small table she had t__aken refuge under in the living room. She ran towards her grandmother whose fate remained a mystery thanks to the large chair which had blocked her view of events. But, as she got closer the sight of her grandmother, lying motionless at the bottom of the stairs told her all she needed to know._

"_Grandmamma!" she shrieked. "Help! Please someone help me!"_

"She died a hero." Patty comforted her mother, who after reciting the story, had been brought to tears.

"Always being the hero," she sniffled. "Even at the cost of her own life."

"Sounds like someone else I know," Patty wrapped her arms around Penny, "what do we do now? We can't give up."

"Who said anything about giving up?" Penny shuffled her way out of Patty's arms and smiled, "I think we need to call in some outside help on this one."

"Who do you have in mind?" Patty asked, as Penny rose to her feet.

"Just follow me," she smiled, leading the way up to the attic.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen**

"_Hear these words, hear my cry,  
Spirit from the other side.  
Come to me, I summon thee,  
Cross now the great divide."_

Penny took a step back from the circle of eight lighted candles and waited. In a ray of white and gold lights, the ghost of Penny's grandmother, Laura Bowen, appeared in a fantastic golden aura. Pleased with the result, Penny took another step back and waited for her grandmother to speak.

"Penny. It's so nice to see you," she said, with extended arms and the same warmth in her voice that Penny remembered from childhood. "But, what am I doing here?" Laura in many ways looked a lot like her great-granddaughter. Her warm loving smile and her strong cheekbones in particular struck a chord of familiarity. She was dressed in a long champagne colored dress which draped around her feet, while her long graying brown hair was sat neatly over one shoulder. "And who is this?" she asked, turning her attention to Patty noticing the resemblance.

"I'm Patty, your great-granddaughter," Patty smiled awkwardly, having never met her great-grandmother before she wasn't sure how to act around her especially in non-corporal form. "It's so lovely to meet you."

"And you my darling," Laura smiled.

"Gran," Penny started. Frozen in time by death, Laura could easily have been Penny's older sister, which made addressing her as Gran made Penny feel slightly awkward. "I am sorry to have called you, I know you have an afterlife to be getting on with but things down here have been quite strange lately and for some reason I can't help but think that you factor into it somehow."

Penny's words struck Laura, who in a moment of mixed emotions stepped forward outside of the circle of candles to become whole. "Tell me everything," she said softly taking Penny by the hand and walking the group across the attic where the three of them sat down on Aunt Pearl's couch. Penny took the middle seat, wedged between the almost identical Patty and Laura.

"I don't know where to start," Penny admitted, going over the events of the past few days quickly in her head. "It all started when I was in the house alone looking after Prue while Patty was viewing an apartment a few days ago. I was attacked by a demon, which naturally I managed to fight off, but it kept happening more and more and it became evident that it was more of an assassination attempt rather than random attacks."

"Prue?" Laura asked hopefully.

"My daughter, she's just turned one," Patty beamed. "And there's another on the way," she smiled, patting her stomach.

"It's so wonderful to see the Warren line growing," Laura praised. She, just like her granddaughter was a proud Warren witch. Her heritage was important to her, so to know that the line was still growing made her feel proud of what her decedents were doing to uphold the family name. While each generation grew in power, the demons became more desperate to decimate the line. Laura even in death was dedicated to upholding the family lineage, and if that meant stepping out of retirement for one last hurrah then so be it.

"Anyway," Penny said, steering the conversation back to the reason why Laura had been summoned, "I called you because one of the demons involved the attacks was a demon named Xanthor." She waited silently for Laura's reaction. Penny herself had only been informed of Xanthor's identity because of Selena's involvement, so it was possible that Laura herself didn't know Xanthor's name. He was after all missing from the Book of Shadows. "Does that name ring any bells?" she pressed after Laura did not respond.

Laura nodded stiffly and slowly. "Yes."

Deciding against divulging into her grandmother's death, Penny jumped straight to the point. "Why was he so powerful in your time as witch? I met him, and he was vanquished by a simple potion. It was too easy."

"Xanthor was a serious threat in the underworld. The Source sent many demons after him, all of which failed to kill him. He originally belonged to a group of upper-level demons who formed a faction against The Source. They didn't spend a lot of time trying to kill humans or witches instead they were more concerned about the politics of the underworld. They didn't believe that one demon should rule supreme and instead wanted to initiate a council of sorts to rule, the council being themselves. They employed demons to do their bidding for them, which occasionally involved killing witches."

"I am willing to bet that those demons which attacked us were part of this. Perhaps they were fellow members of this council?" Patty speculated.

"No they couldn't have been, they were too easy to vanquish," Penny said, remembering how she vanquished the first demon in Prue's nursery with one of her emergency potions.

"But maybe they were stripped of their powers like Xanthor was," Patty wondered. "Selena tricked us into believing he was unvanquishable without his flesh when really he could be killed by a potion."

"No." Laura sounded confident. "The council of demons was destroyed. I should know. I helped take them down. When Xanthor killed me, he was the last. The plan was forged between witches and The Triad. Our family and the Marks family worked together. There were a lot of demons involved so we needed strong affiliations, neither of our families would have stood a chance if we were to go at it alone. We would strip a demon of its powers and when they would retreat back to the underworld The Triad would be waiting for them and they would finish the job." She paused as she saw a look of disbelief cross Penny's face. "It sounds simple, but in reality getting close enough to a demon of such strength and menace as those belonging to the council was much easier said than done. I was not the only casualty of the war."

"You made a pact with demons?" Penny asked bewildered. "Why?"

"Because it was the only way of destroying the council before they rose to power." Laura wasn't entirely happy with what she had done in order to preserve the natural balance between good and evil, but the plan had been somewhat of a success, even if it had resulted in her death. "But if you met Xanthor…" she trailed off considering the options silently.

"It means that The Triad tricked you," Penny said in a judgmental tone. After what happened with Selena, working with demons was not something that was high on her to-do list, and she couldn't believe that her own grandmother had made the same mistake that she had. Laura had always been something of an idol of Penny's, it was Laura who taught her how to create her own spells and potions, not just for vanquishing demons but for everyday uses as well. "I guess it must run in the family."

"No! The Triad wanted him dead as much as I. As much as all of us did. He was the last demon, why would they suddenly change their minds?"

"Look, we don't want to start an argument," Patty said, attempting to mediate the conversation which was becoming more and more heated by the minute. "All we know is that somehow Xanthor survived the war. Now while he's not a problem anymore, Selena is."

"Of course!" Penny announced in a light bulb moment. "Selena is the key to all of this. She was working for Xanthor or at least he thought she was. Could it have been possible that the two had a history together? Say dating back all the way to when Xanthor was a member of the council?"

"That wouldn't surprise me. They had hundreds of demons working for them. Some who volunteered others who were enslaved to the council."

"So which category does Selena fit into? Did she sign up or was she forced to work for this council?" Patty began, but before she could continue loud crashes from downstairs cased the three of them to instinctively jump to their feet and run towards the door.

**(X)**

"Patty! Get Prue!" Victor called, pointing to the door. "The car! Quick!"

As Patty ran to the door, Penny and Laura took on the four demons who had invaded the house while Victor struggled to his feet, pressing his hand hard against his nose, which was streaming with blood. Another demon shimmered into the manor behind him grabbing both of his hands and restraining them behind his back.

"Let go of me you bastard!" Victor demanded angrily. His request was met by a snigger and the demon tightened his grip on Victor's arms.

Laura was thrown back by one of the demons, crashing though the staircase where she was met by another demon who ruthlessly pulled her up by her right arm and securing her against his chest. "Surprise," he said as she caught sight of him. "You aren't going anywhere," he whispered directly into her ear.

Penny found herself cornered by the remaining demons. Edging towards the dining room she tried to formulate a plan. _Outnumbered in my own house. This has been one of the worst weeks of my life._ "I can take all of you without breaking a sweat," she said feigning confidence.

"I'd like to see that," one of the demons growled as an energy ball materialized in his palm. "Say goodnight witch!"

"Stop!" Selena ordered, shimmering into the scene mere inches in front of Patty. Clutching hold of Prue, the Seer smiled as Patty's eyes scanned her child for signs of harm.

"If you have harmed her in any way," Patty threatened preparing to freeze the scene.

"Not so fast," Selena smirked, and as she did another demon shimmered in behind Patty, grabbing her arms and restricting her powers.

"Get off me! You are going to pay for this," Patty hissed as she struggled against the demon's grasp.

"Boys, with me," she commanded, ignoring Patty's threats. "I think we have what we came for." She locked eyes with Penny, "I'll be seeing you soon," she smiled before shimmering out, baby Prue in tow.

Each of the demons with their respective hostages followed suit, the three circled around Penny reluctantly gave up the fight and were the last to leave.

The realization of how alone she now was sunk in and she dropped to the floor in a heap and did something she had wanted to do all week. She began to cry. Her whole family had been kidnapped in seconds and she didn't stop it. Nor did she believe she actually could have.

Penny Halliwell felt well and truly defeated.


End file.
